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Coast Guard Officials Charged In Sinking

PIRAEUS, GREECE — Coast guard officials were charged with criminal negligence Tuesday, local media said, in connection with the sinking of a passenger ferry that left 80 people dead.

The Express Samina ferry smashed into a well-marked rocky islet and sank off the Aegean island of Poros on Sept. 26.

Coast guard Commodore Damianos Doumanis and port police Commander Antonis Pitsoulakis were charged with disrupting the safety of shipping traffic and possibly endangering lives. The two also were accused of allowing the 34-year-old ferry to operate without documents certifying it was seaworthy.

Other coast guard officials were accused of failing to take action when they were informed in July that many ferries did not meet safety standards.